Contract; breach of contract; delivery of defective goods; hidden defects; opportunity to discover hidden defects.
Facts: Quin bought a car that she wanted to use to tow a boat. The car was sold as suitable for that purpose. Before the sale, Quin's husband took the car for a short test drive and looked under the bonnet at the engine. He saw nothing wrong. Quin made payment by cheque and took the car. Soon thereafter she discovered that a defective radiator had caused the car to overheat when towing the boat. She stopped payment on the cheque and returned the car to Finch Motors.
Issue: Since she had inspected the vehicle, accepted delivery and used the vehicle for towing, was it too late for Quin to reject it?
Decision: Quin was entitled to reject the car.
Reason: The defect was a serious one that made the car unsuitable for towing. If the defect had been obvious at the time of the sale, Quin would not have been entitled to reject the car after inspecting it, taking delivery and driving it. However, the defect was hidden (latent) and was not discoverable merely by looking at the car or driving it without towing. In such cases, a delay in rejecting the goods until the defect is discovered does not necessarily amount to an unconditional acceptance of the goods as fulfilling the contract. Whether any delay is reasonable is a question of fact which depends on the nature of the article sold and the nature of the defects alleged.